Message:Okay, so I bought a 1995 dodge Dakota with 159000
miles on the 3.9 v6 and the 4-gear auto
transmission. About 5 months ago and the person
said it was getting about 13-14 mpg on the
highway. So I went ahead, changed the spark
plugs, air cleaner, and put some Lucas injector
cleaner in the gas. I then got 23-24 mpg on my
first tank on the high way.
A few months later a spark plug died and I dint
realize it was 1 dead spark plug, so I changed the
plug wires, cap, rotor, ignition cold and chopped
the cat. All of which needed to be done. When I
finally changed the plugs, it ran okay. I
currently get about 16 mpg freeway and 8-12 mpg in
town. The power in it is horrible, no bottom end,
and a really week top end. No clue what’s wrong
or what I should do.

Message:i have only 1 o2 sensor and it was pre cat so i left
it in place. i have no way of checking codes a the
moment but my check engine light hasnt come on at
all.
what can i do about my EGR.
And just a little fyi im 18 years old and a college
student I dont really need smart ass comments.
thanks

Message:This should help. Poor Broke college kid, I know, I've got 2 of them myself.

ON-BOARD DIAGNOSTICS

1. Cycle the ignition key ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON within 5 seconds. To cycle the ignition key ON means to turn it only as far as it takes to get the radio to come on. It does not mean to turn the engine on.

2. Count the number of times the "check engine" lamp on the instrument panel flashes on and off. The number of flashes represents the code. There is a slight pause between the flashes representing the first and second digits of the code. Longer pauses separate individual codes. For example, flash-flash-flash [pause] flash-flash represents the code 32.

You came here looking to get help with your truck
and that's just what you got. I don't get paid for
this nor did you have to pay to get here.
Straight and to the point I told you were to start
fixing. You looking to get it sugar coated or
someone to hold your hand go see your mom.
(18 & in college) Grow a set!

Have fun playing with bob an daddio neither will
have a clue here. Infact bob passes on more bad
info then anything else.

Take the info I gave you and run it by Larry & you
will get it confirmed.

Message:"and guess what the results are"
is an unnecessary smart ass comment.
so yes really.
i dont need thing sugar coated, im living on my own and going to college was
supposed to be something completely separate from the smart ass comment, it
was supposed to imply that im poor and have limited access to anything.

Now that were done arguing ive asked what can i do about the EGR.

there is no pinging that i can tell, however my idle does bog down and then
comes back but you have to really be paying attention to hear it and feel it
happen.

also i was wondering how my EGR wouldn't work with out a cat, i mean it was
after my o2 sensor so im a bit confused.

Message:"also i was wondering how my EGR wouldn't work with out a cat"

We're all waiting to hear that.

Try allpar.com, they don't insult you, it's moderated and not allowed. You get a friendly reception, fast responses, and you must create a free login profile, which prevents people from posing as you and posting childish comments (such as the ones that are guaranteed to follow this).

"I changed the plug wires, cap, rotor, ignition cold and chopped the cat. All of which needed to be done."

I'm guessing that's *ignition coil*. How did you determine that the coil needed replacing, and why did you chop out the catcon? If it were plugged it would run better now, but that's apparently not the case. What diameter exhaust do you now have? Reducing backpressure will cut down on your low-end power.

Depending on your driving style, your mileage might be expected. I baby mine and get 20 mpg highway, 16 city. But my wife drove it one tankful and got 13 mpg city. So it could be that you need to ease up on the gas a little.

Did you change the air filter and PCV valve when you replaced the rest?

Message:i got 1995 dakota 3.9L here for he last week when my truck is cold hasent been started that day it will take prob about 10 seconds of cranking over for it to start up then it acts like is going to die yet but when it warms up it runs fine. i have replaced idle contol valvue and throttle position sensor and i just found this forum and i think it says 12 and 54 would cam signal fix this or could it be something else? any help would be greatly appricated

Check the distributor pickup and the shaft for side play, and also check the bushing underneath the dist shaft for wear. These often wear out and cause wobble.

If that's all good, check fuel pressure. Could be a failing pump or the check valve in the pump failing to hold pressure. One way to test this is to turn the key to ON, then OFF, then ON again to prime the system, then see if it starts more quickly.

Message:Tyler, is your truck doing this only on a cold start? If so, have your battery load tested. A weak battery will still start the truck but also cause an erractic idle. If battery voltage gets too low the PCM will lose it's idle memory setting and cause the rough idle/ stalling.

Message: I think the lack of a cat might have something to do with the loss of power. My '94 had a gutted cat when I bought it. Installed new cap, rotor, plugs, coil, wires, EGR and PCV valve, K&N air filter w/ seperate valve cover breather, new radiator, thermostat, water pump, battery, motor supports, all new brakes even new drums and rotors, wheels and tires (225's and stock wheel size), new timing chain, new fuel pump, and everything checks out ok. Can't find a problem anywhere and no trouble codes. Have done everything I can think of for better milage and no results. Milage stays around 16 and just feels underpowered. Was getting over 22 (drove 212 miles on 8 gallons of gas), but got tired of the old muffler rattling and falling apart, so put a cheap glass pack on (2.5" pipe). When doing that I discovered the cat is gutted and the old muffler apparently was giving it the right amount of back pressure. Have not found an 02 sensor anywhere and isn't shown in my manual for '94 models. My best guess for keeping the cat is for back pressure. Plan on having a real muffler shop install a new cat and muffler soon and fixing the 02 sensor situation.

Message:Hi all, I have a '95 with 4x4, ext cab, runs OK, but
lousy mileage. It has a 3.9, stock. Plugs are new,
idles fine, starts fine. 140,000 miles, so I want to
replace the o2 sensor next. I have done plugs and
air filter, wires look OK. (I haven't had the truck
long). Found the sensor- on top of the exhaust Y.
How the hell do you get a wrench on it???? Is there
a secret? Also, the connector is sitting on the side
of the trans- I can't get 2 hands on it to seperate.
Any hints? Thanks!

Message:no smart ass comments i understand in general but
that remark wasn't half as bad as some others on
here. you're being a little bit of a girl about a
harmless comment.

as to the post removing the cat will make the EGR
mess up on that truck have same truck did same
thing, put cat back on. i went with high flow
magnaflow works great no codes and not to much worse
than no cat. quieter for sure

Message:no smart ass comments i understand in general but
that remark wasn't half as bad as some others on
here. you're being a little bit of a girl about a
harmless comment.

as to the post removing the cat will make the EGR
mess up on that truck have same truck did same
thing, put cat back on. i went with high flow
magnaflow works great no codes and not to much worse
than no cat. quieter for sure